My thredUp order just arrived and I must say they are a very savvy company. See how the packaging makes it seem like you ordered something high end, when what you really bought was used clothing?

Not only that, but each item has a nice thredUp tag attached to it. There’s something psychological about seeing a tag on an item of clothing — a high-end-looking tag at that — that makes me feel like the item is worth more.

I’m happy with the clothes I got, too. They were all in like-new condition just as described on the Web site. The prices were slightly high for used but not really higher than many brick-and-mortar kids’ resale shops.

Will I order from them again? Well, I made this order because I had $55 credits that I had earned from spreading the word (you can get a $10 credit if you sign up through me, and I’ll get one too). The one downside to shopping this site is that, although they have greatly improved from their earlier days, they still don’t have enough merchandise that I could find exactly what I was looking for. I really wanted sun hats for the whole family and sandals for the kids, for summer. There were none of either in any of my kids’ sizes. I ended up getting a couple bucket hats for my middle child which will be handy, but they are corduroy so I doubt she’ll want to wear them when we go to hot hot Arizona this summer. But my credits were going to expire so I bought other things that we didn’t need as urgently.

So, I will browse this site again when my kid needs something, especially if I don’t have time to go to a local thrift store to look. I’d rather buy something used whenever I can, but I don’t get out to stores much with my schedule, so I like the concept of shopping used from home. But I may not order again until thredUp has beefed up its inventory.

]]>http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2014/05/thredup-order-arrived/feed/0Trying out HomeExchangehttp://www.frugalisticmom.com/2014/04/trying-out-homeexchange/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=trying-out-homeexchange
http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2014/04/trying-out-homeexchange/#commentsFri, 25 Apr 2014 17:00:35 +0000http://www.frugalisticmom.com/?p=6130I recently signed up for the Web site HomeExchange, where you can trade homes with others for free vacation lodging. Although I haven’t successfully found someone to trade with yet, I am pretty psyched about the experience. This is not a sponsored post, I just wanted to share this new frugal thing I’m trying.

The first thing I did was register for the site, which is free, and list my house, which cost $47.85 for three months. Then I furiously cleaned a few rooms for photographing, and then the kids came home from school, and I realized that the only way to photograph a room is to clean it and then take the pictures immediately.

Then I had to write a few words about my house, family and neighborhood. When my listing was done, it did not compare all that well to some of the other houses on the site. I mean, some of these houses are mansions. And many of the photographs look like professional real estate photographs. I think this might be because a lot of homes on the site are second homes, and the photos may also be used for rental listigns on AirBnb, etc.

Once my listing was live, I started contacting owners of homes where I would like to stay. I messaged the owners of an RV in Santa Cruz which we really, really wanted to borrow, and got no reply. I messaged the owners of nine gorgeous Sonoma houses, and got automated rejection notices. I started to feel discouraged.

Then, I received my first request. Someone wanted to stay in our house this summer. The family was offering their house IN PARIS for exchange.

Wow. Wow!

I had to turn that family down, because they wanted to come stay at a time when we’ll be having guests here. But it took away my frustration. I began messaging owners of houses in Flagstaff, Az., where we hope to stay this summer to see the Grand Canyon. So far, I’ve gotten a lot of rejections and one “maybe.”

Even though we would not be able to visit Europe this summer, I told all these people that I would consider hosting them here if we don’t get the Grand Canyon exchange we’re looking for. After all, we need cat sitters. We wrote in our listing that people staying here would need to care for our cats, and I just checked with each of the people who contacted me to make sure they were willing to do that.

We’ll see how this turns out!

]]>http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2014/04/trying-out-homeexchange/feed/0Favorite Black Friday Dealshttp://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/11/favorite-black-friday-deals/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=favorite-black-friday-deals
http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/11/favorite-black-friday-deals/#commentsFri, 29 Nov 2013 23:17:41 +0000http://www.frugalisticmom.com/?p=6116Tired of reading all over Facebook about how your friends would rather do anything today rather than shop? You’ve come to the right place, sisters and brothers. You’ve gotta buy some stuff, why not buy it today when so many things are half price?

Here are some of the best deals I’ve taken advantage of or noticed so far today:

My Old Navy purchases.

$100 Gap brands gift cards for $80 at Office Max. I already bought two $50 gift cards at Office Max this morning and spent most of them at Old Navy, on Christmas gifts plus a few basics for me. Now I’m hoping to pick up another one to use online at Athleta, where the coupon code FIT20 takes off 20 percent, even on sale items. (Thanks, WantNot.net!)

50% off in store at Old Navy. I even got half off a Wii game (Lego Star Wars, The Clone Wars, $10 after discount) and a bottle of Mexican coke from the cooler.

Furby Boom for $29. Last night my kid saw a Furby Boom commercial and fell in love, and I realized when I saw it and read up on it that it is actually something she’d love. So I checked on Amazon, and the price for the diagonal stripes version was down to $29. Buy! Sadly, it’s going for $39 now, but keep an eye on it.

I really wanted the $99 Kindle Fire HD at Best Buy for my 6-year-old, but by the time I tried to buy it last night, they were sold out. Blah. But I did order an LG Optimus F3 4G no-contract phone for Virgin, for $89.99. Hope it’s better than the junky Kyocera phone I have now!

So many deals at Kohl’s, including lots of half-price toys and a $79 Cuisinart. Unfortunately, I left Kohl’s empty-handed this morning because the lines were just out of control. I may try again this evening though, because my Cuisinart is coming up “unavailable” online. I saw at least one at the store — hope they are still in stock when I go back! You get $15 off for every $50 you spend, plus our local paper had stickers for $10 off $30 spent in store. If you’re shopping online, get 15 percent off with the coupon code ROCKSAVE.

The title may go a bit far — I mean, if I won a free Ford Flex I certainly wouldn’t turn it down — but it does share some of the unexpected benefits to the car-free lifestyle that we’ve discovered in the past year.

In the comment section, one reader said that they could not take me seriously because they didn’t believe that our 6-year-old could do a 10-mile roundtrip bike ride. It sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? Especially since she just learned to ride a two-wheeler this summer and she is not the kid who LOVES to be active. In fact, when we are out on walks Pebbles often tries to ride in the stroller we bring for her little brother.

But it’s true: On multiple occasions, little Pebbles has ridden about five miles to a destination and five miles back, with little to no complaining. From our home in Alameda, we’ve gone to Jack London Square and back several times (4.9 miles each way) and to Rosenblum Cellars and back (4.7 miles each way) and to the Main Street Ferry (4.8 miles each way). OK, now that I look at it, the most she has ridden in one day is only 9.8 miles. Still though, we’re proud of those little pumping legs!

]]>http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/11/frugalistic-mom-on-what-to-expect/feed/0A $50 date coupon!http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/10/a-50-date-coupon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-50-date-coupon
http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/10/a-50-date-coupon/#commentsMon, 07 Oct 2013 17:35:10 +0000http://www.frugalisticmom.com/?p=6107Offers for $20 off, even $20 off are run of the mill, but today I got an offer that raised my eyebrows: Get $50 off your first date when you sign up for HowAboutWe for Couples. All you have to do to get this $50 credit is to sign up through another member’s “invite your friends” link, like mine.

Did I mention that you can also get a $50 credit for every friend you invite who becomes a member?

This is not a free sign-up like Groupon. How it works is, you pay a monthly membership fee of $18. For that $18 you get one date for two a month, and then you can purchase additional dates through the site if you want. But once you join and redeem your $50, you can quit right away and not have to pay any further membership fees. There’s no obligation to continue.

The site also has member rewards like two-for-one movie tickets from Fandango.

]]>http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/08/speck-winners/feed/0Speck case review and giveawayhttp://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/08/speck-case-review-and-giveaway/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=speck-case-review-and-giveaway
http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/08/speck-case-review-and-giveaway/#commentsMon, 05 Aug 2013 18:48:36 +0000http://www.frugalisticmom.com/?p=6089Who wants to win an iPad (or other electronic device) case? You do! Yes you do! OK, sit pretty right here and listen to my review of the Speck HandyShell for iPad, which I’ve been test driving for a couple weeks, and then we’ll get right to the giveaway.

Good reader!

I had been wanting a new case for my iPad for awhile, especially since I’ve been using the iPad more and more for my work and therefore toting it around a lot in my bag. I had a leather(ish) case that I’d gotten for under $10 on Amazon, but I didn’t like it because it tended to slide around, sometimes covering the camera hole right when I needed to take a photo. Also, although it had a prop-up thingy, it didn’t work well. The cheap case was so annoying that I’d often end up just taking it off and leaving the iPad unprotected. Which is how it ended up with two cracks on its edges, which don’t affect its performance but certainly don’t look pretty.

Then I bought a Logitech bluetooth keyboard, so I started using the stand that came with that to prop up the iPad when I worked. But this was a pain too, because you have to set up the stand each time you want to use it, and then position the iPad in it, before you can start working.

Then Speck sent me their HandyShell for iPad case. You guys, I am in love! I am not just saying this because they sent it to me for free and because they’re going to send five of you cases of your choice. Seriously, I wish I had had this case from the first day we got the iPad. Not only would the iPad probably be undamaged now, but you guys, it can do this:

That’s right. This case has a hook attached to the back that allows you to hang it off a cupboard knob instead of having your precious iPad wallow in your cooking mess like I did before. I don’t know about you, but I love having my iPad open in front of me while I cook. Either I’m following a recipe off of it, or I just have Facebook open so I can take a drink of wine every time my friends start announcing that it’s wine o’clock. (Most of my friends are in the Central time zone, so technically I can start doing this at 3 p.m.)

I’ve also found the hook quite handy for hanging my iPad on the inside of the bathroom stall when I use the bathroom. Not because I have to Facebook while I pee! Honest! No, the thing is, when I’m working in a cafe, I take my iPad into the bathroom with me to make sure it doesn’t get stolen. But then, before Speck, I didn’t have a safe, clean place to set it down.

The same hook, which is covered with a nice rubbery material, also serves to prop up the iPad in just about any position. Landscape, portrait, standing up tall or leaning back a bit, this thing can handle any position. When you’re done, just push the handle back against the back of the case and slip the iPad back into your bag.

Speck cases of course come with cute color choices. Mine is mostly gray with a lavender accent, which I chose because I am very ladylike.

If I could change one thing about this case, I would add a screen protector, so I wouldn’t have to worry about the screen getting scratched in my bag.

GIVEWAY: THREE LUCKY WINNERS WILL WIN THE CASE OF THEIR CHOICE

Now, it’s time for your treat, readers! Because you were so, so good during my little talk! Here’s how you can win your own Speck case for your iPad or whatever device. They have cases for the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy, Macbook and iPad Mini, for instance.

All you have to do is leave a comment here stating which Speck case you would like to win, and with your Twitter handle. Then, send the following tweet:

Please do not leave more than one comment on this post. The contest ends at 5 p.m. Friday, August 9. Then I’ll randomly choose three of the qualifying commenters/tweeters as winners. I will contact winners directly. If you do not hear from me directly, you did not win. Note that there will be ONLY THREE cases given away — hurry up and tweet if you want to win.

And … GO!

Disclosure: Speck provided me with a free case for review. Also, this post contains an affiliate link. Extra credit if you can find it!

]]>http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/08/speck-case-review-and-giveaway/feed/11Cheap iPad Keyboard Updatehttp://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/05/cheap-ipad-keyboard-update/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cheap-ipad-keyboard-update
http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/05/cheap-ipad-keyboard-update/#commentsFri, 10 May 2013 23:48:33 +0000http://www.frugalisticmom.com/?p=6071A few months ago I bought this Apple Ipad 2/ipad 3 Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard Case Stand for just $20, in hopes that it would help me use the iPad for a laptop replacement, writing blog posts, taking interview notes and writing articles.
Well, it did not work out, and so I am updating my post to recommend against that keyboard. Oh, it was super cute, and I loved the way it snapped to the iPad to make a hard case. But after trying it out a few times, I stopped using it. The first problem was that it was not a full-sized keyboard, and I had trouble getting used to that enough to feel comfortable really writing. Second, it had a battery that needed to be recharged by plugging it in, and the charger was neither a standard cell phone charger or an iPad charger, but a third kind that I of course immediately lost. We had a couple of them around, but having to search for a cable to charge it was another reason I ended up not using it much. Finally, I had trouble maintaining a bluetooth connection with the keyboard. I’d be typing away, interviewing someone on the phone, and I’d suddenly lose the connection. Instead of going through the process of going to settings on the iPad and trying to establish a new connection, I’d just give up and switch to taking notes on paper. Not ideal.
Last week, I was going to a conference and decided to give the keyboard another shot to take notes. I found the charger, charged it up, and brought it along. This time it worked pretty well; it only lost the connection once or twice and since I was only sitting in conference sessions instead of conducting an interview I didn’t mind reconnecting. But then, partway through the day, the thing’s case split open at the seam and its innards were exposed. The on-off switch fell off and it became non-functional.
So, not such a bargain.

Next weekend, I have to cover a conference as a tech reporter, so it was time to get serious about my technology. I can’t afford to be stopping to reconnect. Today, I ordered this: Logitech Tablet Keyboard (Keyboard-and-Stand Combo) for iPad, iPad 2, iPad (3rd/4th gen) for $47.34.
But I was too anxious to wait for it to arrive. Besides, I have a little reporting gig tomorrow and would like to practice using my iPad to take notes. So, at OfficeMax today I picked up the Rocksoul Bluetooth Keyboard for $34.99, plus tax.

Both the Logitech and the Rocksoul take AAA batteries that are supposed to last a long time, so the charger issue will no longer be a problem. So far, I’ve typed this whole post on the Rocksoul without losing the connection, so I’m hopeful about that issue. And they’re both full-size keyboards.

The drawback of the Rocksoul is that it has no case/stand and does not store along with the iPad in any way. All full-size keyboards are slightly longer than the iPad. But I already had a cheap case/stand for my iPad, so that’s not such a biggie. I’ll just slip both of them into a laptop sleeve and have room to spare.

Anyway, I will demo both these things and return whichever one I like least.

Disclosure: The links in this post? Affiliate ones. If you click through and buy something on Amazon, I may make a commission.

]]>http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/05/cheap-ipad-keyboard-update/feed/0Customer service: If you don’t like the answer, call back laterhttp://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/05/customer-service-if-you-dont-like-the-answer-call-back-later/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=customer-service-if-you-dont-like-the-answer-call-back-later
http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/05/customer-service-if-you-dont-like-the-answer-call-back-later/#commentsThu, 02 May 2013 17:05:35 +0000http://www.frugalisticmom.com/?p=6066

I should take my own advice more often! I think I’ve said here before that if you don’t like the answer you got from customer service, one strategy is to simply call back later and talk to another rep. I inadvertently used this strategy today and it worked like a charm.

See, about a week ago my bargain basement slider phone — a Kyocera Rise from Virgin Mobile — completely fell apart. First, it started feeling wobbly when I opened and closed it, and then, some screws fell out and suddenly I was holding two separate pieces connected by a thin strip. It still worked fine, but after a few days the thin strip broke as well and then, of course, nothing.

I checked the Web site and found out my phone came with a 1-year warranty. I called Virgin and described the damage, but they told me that they would not replace it because it was in two pieces and they would not be able to refurbish and resell it.

Nice, jerks.

Then, I did nothing for a few days. Today, I thought, I should really call them and tell them to put my account on hold until I get a new phone. When I called and told the rep the situation, he immediately said they’d be able to send me a new phone, and transferred me to tech support. I expected that the tech support person would give me the same (jerky) answer as before, but instead, she cheerfully took my address and told me my replacement phone would be arriving in a couple days by FedEx.

So there ya go! If you don’t like Mom’s answer, ask Dad. Works for kids, and it works with customer service.

]]>http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/05/customer-service-if-you-dont-like-the-answer-call-back-later/feed/040% Off at Lands’ Endhttp://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/04/40-off-at-lands-end/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=40-off-at-lands-end
http://www.frugalisticmom.com/2013/04/40-off-at-lands-end/#commentsFri, 26 Apr 2013 17:30:41 +0000http://www.frugalisticmom.com/?p=6059Need a bathing suit? Well, you could be naughty and order one for full price at Athleta (that’s the catalog I’ve been drooling over this week), or you could be good and look at Lands’ End, where all regular-price items are 40 percent off with coupon code BRIGHT and PIN 4520 through May 1. Shipping is free when you spend $50.

Since even my kids have been telling me I need a new bathing suit lately, and I remember wearing my current suit during at least one pregnancy which means it’s four years old or maybe more like seven years old, I am kind of in the market. I don’t want to show any part of my body to my neighbors, of course, so I’m thinking at minimum a tank and shorts, or preferably one of those chin-to-ankles get-ups that they used to wear at the Sutro Baths.

This top ain’t bad, but jeez, it’s $99 before the coupon code! Remember when you used to get a whole bathing suit for that price and not just one piece? I guess it has fancy engineering in it to make one look bustier and thinner, or maybe it will protect you a nuclear attack or something.

This one, without the high-tech “enhancement,” is $49 before the discount, so it should be about $30 after. That’s better, I guess.